KOPI BREAK ORDER #009 — Cheng Him: “Froggy Froggy Jump Like Hell”

"ah seng say – the frog the fish share the same sky / people say – you then share the same as sai"

"Since beginningless time, living beings have been reincarnating in the six realms in an endless cycle." —The Compassionate Water Samadhi

OM          ah seng say – sit in rain become wet
OM          people say – kanina this one who dont know

OM          ah seng say – you got ask fish if they know what is wet?
OM          people say – you might as well ask fish how to walk

OM          ah seng say – he will become the fish
OM          people say – (actually they just throw him inside the water)

OM          ah seng say – (incoherent gurgling noises)
OM          people say – how, got ask the fish how to walk or not?

OM          ah seng say – the fish know what is the rain
OM          people say – the frog know better than the fish

OM          ah seng say – the frog the fish share the same sky
OM          people say – you then share the same as sai

OM          ah seng say – kanina this one who dont know
OM          people say – (incoherent gurgling noises)

OM          ah seng say – I throw you all inside the water how?
OM          people say – we become the fish lor

OM          ah seng say – the frog know better than the fish
OM          people say – sit in rain both become wet

OM          ah seng say – (nothing, he busy throwing people inside water)
OM          people say – the fish the frog share the same sky

OM          ah seng say – how, got ask the fish what is wet or not?
OM          people say – the fish know what is the rain

OM          ah seng say – kanina this one who dont know
OM          people say – the frog the fish both dont know

OM          ah seng say – you then share the same as the sai
OM          people say – you might as well ask fish how to walk

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Hello reader,

Singapore Writers’ Festival is upon us this weekend! Have you scoured the programme or reached out to friends to make plans?

I confess I have yet to really plan my itinerary (fellow editor Max Pasakorn’s panel tonight on being Asian in America is really interesting!), but I know I’ll be attending an event next Friday called Celebrating Ten Years of SingPoWriMo. Some good friends are on this panel, including this week’s featured poet, Cheng Him.

I’ve been hoping for a while for Cheng Him to submit some of his poetry, and this week’s poem is a wonderful encapsulation of his wry voice. “Froggy Froggy Jump Like Hell” blends elements of Buddhist prayer with a hilarious Singlish conversation between a man (‘Ah Seng’) and people he knows.

Cycling back and forth across a philosophical question – our understanding of the non-human – Cheng Him’s use of conversational Singlish deflates any claim of pretentiousness:

OM        ah seng say – the fish know what is the rain
OM        people say – the frog know better than the fish

OM        ah seng say – the frog the fish share the same sky
OM        people say – you then share the same as sai

I love the snappiness of these Singlish lines and how they read on the page, counterpointed by the long-drawn “OM” common in Buddhist mantras. The capacity for Singlish to express ideas and emotion is quite unique, and I so admire poets who engage with this in their writing practice.

So many writers will be around SWF this coming weekend. If you are attending, Max and I will be hanging out on Sunday 2 to 3pm at the Courtyard Café, before we jaunt off to our next event. If you’ve got a spot of time, come and have a kopi break with us!

Have a lovely evening, whenever it comes to you,

All clinks,
Kendrick

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